Was That a Scream?

Susan snuggled into her sleeping bag. Jack rolled over and put his arm around her. “This isn’t so bad, is it?”

“I guess not. I’d rather be in a five-star hotel though.”

“Thanks for being a good sport and coming along on this camping trip. Have a good sleep.” Jack was soon snoring.

Exhausted by the long hike through the mountains that day, Susan drifted off. Suddenly she sat up. “What was that? Was that a scream?”

“It was probably just a screech owl. Go back to sleep, leave it alone,” Jack mumbled and returned to his snoring.

The next morning Susan woke up early, and although she didn’t want to, she made her way to the public outdoor toilet. Twigs breaking, scurrying, squeaks and rattles, every noise in the forest made her jump. She was happy to return to the tent where Jack perked coffee and scrambled eggs.

“Mmm, smells good. I was hungrier than I thought.”

“Being out in the fresh air will do that for you.” He kissed her cheek as he handed her a plate of steaming eggs and a piece of toast.

“Are you sure there aren’t any bears out here? I mean they do live in the Rocky Mountains.”

“No bears have been sighted around here for some time now. Besides, they keep to themselves and don’t bother folks unless provoked. Now eat up, I’ve got an amazing site to show you today.”

They packed up and started their hike. Soon they arrived at a sign indicating that their destination, Chatterbox Falls, was ten kilometres north. Under the sign was another, warning of grizzly bears and what to do if encountering one.

A chill ran through Susan. “I thought you said there weren’t any bears.”

Jack shrugged. “They have to warn people, just in case. Many city people come out here and have no idea what they might encounter and what to do if they did.”

The coffee was working its way through. Susan needed a biological break. “Just go over in the bushes. There's no one around. I'll keep watch.” Jack winked.

Susan quickly did what she needed to do. As she zipped up her jeans, she noticed a bit of material on a branch. Looking closer, she thought it looked like a piece of sleeping bag.

She called for Jack. “Someone must have snagged their bag while coming through here.”

He frowned and spread the branches apart. A lone tent stood in a small open area. As they got closer to investigate, they could see the tent was open and in disarray.

“Hello, Hello! Is anyone here?” They both shouted.

A stove lay on its side and a backpack was ripped open with the contents scattered about. Susan felt sick. “W-what do you think happened?”

Then she saw spots of blood on the ground leading into the bushes.

“We need to leave.” She grabbed Jack’s arm.

“Someone might be hurt. We have to check.” Jack held her hand as they gingerly followed the trail of blood.

Jack stopped short and shouted, “Don’t look!”

It was too late.

In front of her was a sleeping bag ripped to pieces with a severely mauled and bloodied body of a woman hanging partly out of it. A piece of her shoulder was missing.

Susan started to scream and couldn’t stop.